The current crop of students are growing up in an era of unprecedented change. Climate change, artificial intelligence, and shifting geopolitics could transform what their professional futures look like.
Students, though, don’t seem to be too worried about an economy that’s running dry of predictable careers like consultants, lawyers, or coders. In fact, Generation Alpha kids are more likely to create their own jobs when they’re asked what they want to do when they grow up, rather than follow the beaten paths. From training sea creatures to streaming on YouTube, nothing is off the table.
In an informal LinkedIn poll by Education Week that gave three wacky job possibilities, 26% of responding educators said their students want to train unicorns. Twenty-one percent shared their students had a (slightly) more realistic take: they wanted to be “chocolate tasters,” followed by 19% of teachers who said their students wanted to be “crayon color pickers.”
It’s in the open comment section of the poll, though, that teachers tell us about the funniest—and surprising—careers their students have lined up for themselves. Fair warning: These aren’t job openings you’d find at a typical career fair!
5th grade student: 'When I grow up, I want to be a cloud—so I can float over people and rain on the ones who are mean.'
YouTuber.
Pet food taster.
A diamond picker. A little girl wanted to be able to pick diamonds everyday.
A mattress tester.
Minecraft, no context, no explanation.
The student was my daughter, and she told me she was going to be a poser when she grows up. She was 'posing' in the mirror at Target, and I figured out she meant she was going to be a MODEL. A poser—I got a good, hearty chuckle from that one!
Octopus trainer.
'Blackjack dealer so I can take someone’s money.' 6th graders are awesome.
Tattoo therapist.
Bank robber.
A day care worker in a casino.
A bird.
Tornado.
